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When I was young – ahhh! – my friends and I created a wonderful community of creative, adventurous people. We had so much fun together! We were learning all sorts of crazy esoteric stuff, sharing books, playing instruments, and cooking together.

Then I moved to a different city, got married, gave birth to my three children. We moved to Germany, then to the US and I disconnected with my community of friends.

Is your story a little similar?

In this video, Cecilia and I share how to start creating your “tribe” in a new place. You will also learn what to do when you can’t find any group of people where you want to belong.

A sense of belonging is one of the natural human needs, like food or shelter.

At some point of our life we ask ourselves: Where do I belong? With whom I can share my joy and my pain? Who understands me and accepts me as I am? Who do I dance my tribal dance with?:)

Research shows that a sense of belonging improves our motivation health, and happiness. So why to wait! Join the Conscious Global Living community now!

Finding your tribe in a new city or country is a process. Don’t rush, cut yourself some slack. Appreciate every step that leads you to meeting and connecting with people. With time, you will build your wonderful community or may be even several.

And if you’ve already discovered your tribe, please share with us how you did it? What is your advice for other expats who are struggling with finding their community?

Please, go to the comments below the video and write down your thoughts and ideas.

In our free newsletter we will post some useful links for finding people with the same interests as yours. Sign in with your name and email so we can sent them to you.

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

As expats, sometimes we don't know how to start in a new country. We might not even be allowed to work.

Well, you don't need a work permit for volunteering. And, in most cases, a NGO will be happy to have you as a volunteer. Here’s our experience with volunteering.

How is it in your country? Is volunteering something that people do? What’s your personal experience with volunteering?

Please, share your stories with us in the comments below.

Here’s how Cecilia describes why she chose to volunteer for an NGO that worked with artisans while living in Argentina.

Well, she had many reasons:

1. I needed flexibility to travel back home often for family reasons. A formal job would have made that very difficult: FLEXIBILITY

2. It filled that gap in my Resume: PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

3. I love handcrafts: EXPLORE MY INTERESTS

4. I've always had the dream of opening a Latin American handcrafts shop. I wanted to learn how it worked: LEARN A NEW SKILL

5. I needed to feel useful: PERSONAL SATISFACTION AND SELF ESTEEM

6. I didn't know anybody in Buenos Aires apart from my husband's work colleagues and I wanted to have my own tribe: MEET PEOPLE

7. It gave me something to look forward in the mornings: REDUCE STRESS

So, here’s our tip. Find something that interests you, anything! Tell us in the comments what it is and then set out to find an organization that works in that field. By sharing it with us, you can get help from our community.

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

How busy is your life? I notice that as soon as I think I am in control - there is something unexpected happens that urgently needs my attention. School events, farewell parties, a broken washing machine, and so on, and so on…

What can help you find a moment of peace amidst this swirl of events? How do you find a quiet space that is only for you?

Watch and see what helps us recharge our internal batteries and may be you come up with new ideas for yourself.

Now we’re looking forward to hearing from you! Please, share your thoughts in the comments below.

What gives you the pleasant moment of being connected to yourself and to the world around you? How do you find time to tune in to your own inner being?

Please, sign in to receive updates about our next events and videos. Some information we only share in our newsletter.

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

This is a story that starts with a panic but ends with a happy resolution. I hope after watching the video below you won't repeat my mistake! But just in case, there's also a practical checklist for your peace of mind.

When summer break comes close we are often so with the "end of the school year" events – farewell parties, kids’ recitals and final games, annual evaluations, completions and celebrations at work. We go through packing lists, count days till our summer trip and imagine how we will reconnect with our family of origin.

No wonder that sometimes the most important and obvious things slip out of our attention!

As always we're looking forward to hear from you! Share your stories and thoughts in the comments below.

Has something like this happened to you? That nerve-racking moment when you realized your visa is expired? And you won't have time to renew it before the trip. Or the terrifying moment when you are hours away from leaving for the airport and you can't find your passport?

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

Sorry for the sound glitch in the begging of the video, but the topic was too good not to publish it. The good news is the sound only lasts for a few seconds.

Does this topic resonate with you? We'd love to hear from you! Please, share your thoughts in the comments below.

There are times when we try hard to figure out what to do next with our life. Often, we wait for some miracle to happen or some sign from the universe. Or maybe somebody will come by and in an instant, resolve our situation. Time passes by and nothing happens! We get more and more frustrated. We are stuck in a “waiting” state, like a frozen computer screen.

If it sounds familiar, welcome to the club! You are not alone! In the video we have explored how we can shift from this unproductive waiting mode.

Here's a quote for you:“I stopped waiting for the world to give me what I wanted; I started giving it to myself.” Byron Katie

Have you ever found yourself in this kind of “waiting” state? What did you do to move out of it?What steps did you make to start moving forward?

Ask us questions, leave us a comment – we’re here for you! As well as many other amazing people who are watching these videos. Your story may make somebody’s transition experience much easier!

As always, thank you so much for watching and spreading the word. We always get so excited to get your comments!

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

How many people, do you think, move every year into a new country?According to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, every year, some 214 million people — 3 per cent of the world's population — lived outside their country of origin.That’s a lot!I am sure each one of those 214 million people, including you and me, at some point was asked, “Where are you from?”Seems to be a pretty ordinary question - just a friendly gesture of normal human curiosity. Many people are not bothered by this question at all. But many are bothered! As one of my Facebook friends, who recently posted, “Stop asking me where I am from! Please. Stop!”

I personally notice some little tension inside me when I’m asked this question. My attention drifts away from the conversation.

Here's one quote for you:Alexandar Hemon about the question "Where are you from?" And his answer, "I'm complicated"."Claiming [my] complicatedness meant acknowledging the complexity of history and human experience and rejecting being reduced to some essence that would (ethnically) predetermine my ethos and delimit my humanity. Being complicated meant being irreducible to an essentialist position".

Keynote speech at The Global Soul symposium, Georgetown University, Washington, DCAleksandar Hemon is a Bosnian-born American fiction writer, essayist, and critic. His best known novels are Nowhere Man and The Lazarus Project.

Please, share your thought about this topic in the Comments below.

Live, Love and Create Across the Globe!

OxanaP.S. As I was in my “statistics lover” mood I checked who had more Miss Universe, Russia or Venezuela. Cecilia was right! Venezuela has won more major international beauty competitions than any other nation, including now seven Miss Universe titles. Wow!

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

Now, let us know how you deal with this question. We'd love to hear from you!

What’s your elegant and authentic way to answer this question when you're in the process of redefining your career?Maybe you can teach us a thing or two and help other people who go through a career change.And, if you liked this video, please share it with your friends. That would be great and really appreciated.

More so, if you want to keep receiving interesting content about how to live, love and create across the globe sign up for our email updates.

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

Please, leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you!

Though millions of couples relocate for one of the partner’s job every year, the relocation industry doesn’t come up with a good name for the spouse who follows their partner to a new city, state or country. These highly educated and qualified people are often called trailing spouses or, even worse, dependent spouses.

In this video, Cecilia and I use our body intelligence to come up with a term that resonates with both of us. Have a look at our fun process of discovering it!

Did you like this video? If yes, please share it generously with your friends and family.

Here are some other articles on the topic that you might find interesting.

A trailing spouse? Is an article by Jessie Bryson, a writer and photographer. Her perspective is very different from ours. And she ends her post saying: “Trailing spouse? To me it looks more like prevailing spouse!”

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

It's the first day since the elections that I don't feel a knot in my stomach. I kept processing my feelings, acknowledging my grief so may be my body and mind decided to give me a break.

I was especially thinking of globally mobile professionals, people like me. Who legally live and work in this country but not its citizens. Who are on a work visa and couldn't vote.

I've been living in DC for thirteen years. My children grew up here. From my Lucky walks I know every curve and tree in the neighborhood. I reinvented my career here. And I half-jokingly say that i learned to walk in Siberia and learned to breathe in California. As I actually discovered that most of my life I have been breathing the wrong way. In a word, I invested my energy, creativity and love into where I live now. So I care.

And I know that other people like me, non-citizens professionals, care too. I talked to them these days and heard their fear, sadness and anger.

We couldn't vote. But what can we do? How can we express our concern though officially we don't "belong" here. The feeling of belonging starts with taking responsibility. How can we/I be response - able.

That's what I already did and i am open to your suggestions and sharing.

I voted symbolically by sharing my choice with my friends, including here on FB. I also liked John Oliver's invitation to actively support organizations that I resonate with and that are under threat now. So I signed in for a monthly donation for Planned Parenthood. I invited my Russian friends to get together for a soul warming event though I knew that not all of us share the same views.

What else can we do? How to turn, as one of my friends said, fear into loving action?

What comes to mind is to actively create conscious multi-national communities, to invite dialogue. I believe that because of our mobile life style we can become real Ambassadors of conscious, mindful living. Also, as many of us lived under autocracy or dictatorship we can share our stories and warm people against complacency and acceptance of something that doesn't support their value. It's easier to do it in the beginning.

These are my thoughts. I want the voices of the US global community and from all around the world to be heard.

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

What are the typical ways in which we manage our fears, and how, over the years, do they take over our lives, and become who we think we are, rather than adaptive mechanisms?

James Hollis, Ph. D. is a Zurich-trained Jungian analyst in practice in Washington, D. C. where he is also Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington. He is also author of fourteen books translated into nineteen languages.

I've recorded this video for the Jung Society of Washington and sharing it here with the Society's permission.

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Living coach and an advisor to globally mobile professionals and their life partners. She is the founder of Oxana Holtmann International, a coaching platform that promotes true homecoming through mindfulness, body intelligence, wonder and co-creativity at work and in relationships. Oxana loves writing, discovering and disseminating practical wisdom, and noticing everyday beauty. Oxana grew up in Siberia and now lives with her family in Washington, D.C.

Oxana Holtmann International

Oxana Holtmann is a Conscious Leadership and Relationship coach. She is the founder of Conscious Global Living, a coaching platform that promotes emotional intelligence, creativity, and play in relationships and work.